In the construction and mining industry heavy equipment such as, for example, wheel loaders, excavators, motor graders, bulldozers, and other types of earth moving machines are used to perform a variety of tasks on a worksite. Some tasks require movement between locations on the worksite, and because of the poor visibility provided to an operator of the machines, ground personnel, vehicles and other worksite hazards it can be difficult to safely maneuver the worksite. In certain instances, ground personnel or vehicles may become too close to the machine without the operator being aware of their presence. In other circumstances, the operator may maneuver the machine dangerously close to obstacles or hazards that cannot be readily seen from the operator's cab of the machine. Collision incidents may cause damage to the machine, property, equipment and injury or death to the operator and ground personnel.
There exists numerous systems, methods and devices for vehicle collision avoidance. An example of position tracking and proximity warning system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,656,311; an example of a vehicle hazard and integrated navigation system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,583,734; a vehicle collision avoidance system is described in U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2009/0259401; and a worksite zone mapping and collision avoidance system is described in U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2009/0043462, the entirety of each are incorporated herein by reference.
While the existing systems, devices and methods fulfill their particular objectives, a need remains for a proximity warning and collision avoidance system which includes a display of a simple, not distracting construction while effectively alerting an operator of a proximity warning event and which requires an operator to acknowledge the alarm. Further, there is a need for a proximity warning and collision avoidance system that enables an operator to request assistance.